55+ AWESOME CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS

*Hey, we all know that now's the time to #stayhome! But it's never too early to fuel your wanderlust or plan. Ya'know - plan now, travel later. :) * And also: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that when you click, we get a small percentage (we’re literally talking pennies here folks!) of the purchase at absolutely no extra cost to you. This allows us to keep creating great travel tips for free and… Ah, who are we kidding here, we’re gonna spend them by buying yet another flashy toy for our dog which His Highness will promptly ignore.

It’s true that we usually don’t need much (er, or we like to think so), but there are tons of little useful objects that make our life on the road much easier (lifesavers, we call them), there’s always a gadget or five we are short of and even when we are not traveling we like to be reminded of it (even though we are constantly thinking about it anyway).

So here you go, FROM the travelers FOR the travelers – almost 60 ideas for Christmas gifts for every budget (but with the majority of them being under 25$) so you’ll never have to think again what to buy to your beloved vagabond.

We have and use almost all of them (some we got as gifts!), others we still want to have and some of them we want or need over and over again! 😀

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that when you click, we get a small percentage (we’re literally talking pennies here folks!) of the purchase at absolutely no extra cost to you. This allows us to keep creating great travel tips for free and… Ah, who are we kidding here, we’re gonna spend them by buying yet another flashy toy for our dog which His Highness will promptly ignore.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: TRAVEL PLANNING

And then the day before departure, he asks me: “Where are we going? What are we going to do? ” (er, apparently I’m supposed to have that “half” of the fun).

These are Christmas gifts that will make our travel planning at least a quarter if not a half of the fun:

Travel Planning Journal

All ideas, itineraries, budget plans and useful information in one place! A Travel Planning Journal is one of the ultimate Christmas gifts for travelers and the best part is that we’ll always need at least one more. 🙂

AirBnB gift card

Accommodation usually represents a big chunk of our travel budget. Don’t worry, we are perfectly capable to find our preferred hostel or apartment, but having someone pay for it, well that’s just plain awesome!

Lonely Planet Guides (or Rought Guide or any other)

If you know your traveler’s next destination, a Lonely Planet Guide makes a perfect gift. But even if you don’t know – sometimes it’s just that little push we need to go somewhere we didn’t even think about going to before – and a brand new travel guide will surely do the trick!

Packing Cubes

One of the most useful things without which we can no longer imagine life! We have destroyed a few of them during our year-long honeymoon (well, Bojan did, mine are still in perfect condition), so we’ll be ordering new ones again.

It’s just amazing how much space you can save with packing cubes and to top it off, you know exactly where something is in your luggage.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: ON THE ROAD

Spoiler alert: we have them all! 😀

Travel Journal

Not all travelers (and their dog) are writing a blog, but many take a travel journal with them.

We either write down in a few sentences what happened to us that day and how we feel about it, draw a sketch of our favourite view or just paste in a ticket from all the places we visited. Reading about our adventures (or how hilariously everything went wrong) takes us back to those days even when we are at home ( & plotting our next travels).

We’re filling them up real fast so this is a Christmas gift idea that can be recycled every few years as well!

Carry On Suitcase or Backpack

For a shorter city trip, a travel conference or a romantic weekend getaway in a swanky hotel a carry on suitcase will come in handy (yes, you just might receive some strange looks arriving at a Hilton with a backpack that has seen all of Southeast Asia ). The best are ones with four wheels since they are much easier to drag around.

For the most part, the backpack is a thing many (or all budget) travelers can’t imagine living without. When choosing a travel backpack, it’s super important that it is comfortable (as you carry it up those seemingly endless steps to the hostel) and practical.

For our part, we love Osprey’s backpacks, which open like a suitcase (so you don’t have to pull everything out when you remember that a toothbrush is somewhere near the bottom) and aren’t heavy.

We own Fairviews 55 (for women and men; 40l backpack + 15l daily, which is zipped on this big one) but if we’d be choosing again perhaps a better choice would be a Fairpoint 40because it is designed to fit the dimensions of carry-on luggage requirements.

Protective Bag

Extremely useful thing! They throw our backpacks around the airport (er, and then you get it back without a shoulder strap), kick them under boat decks and they are laying around on the floor in hostels.. all of which shortens their lifespan.

Protective bags protect them from damage, and if you – like us – buy a bunch of trekking equipment at the other end of the world, you can use them as an extra bag to bring it all back home. 😊

(Hanging) toiletry bag

There is no such thing as enough toiletry bags!

Either small ones for weekend trips or slightly bigger ones for longer travels. The best ones are hanging soft bags since they take up less space, and unless you are staying in hotels, there is often no space to put them down (or the whole bathroom is so wet you wonder if it was flooded).

Microfiber Towels

Do you know how long it takes for a thick cotton towel to dry? Forever! Microfiber travel towels take up less space, dry faster, and make the sand much easier to shake off than ordinary ones (we all love the sandy beaches of paradise, but nobody wants to have sand everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.)

Solid Soap and Shampoo bar

One bar of hard shampoo can last as long as 4 bottles of liquid shampoo. Well, that says it all.

Travel Size Bottles and Toiletries

With restrictions on liquids of 100ml for cabin luggage (or because you can’t squeeze that much in a 40l backpack), it’s convenient to use travel size bottles and toiletries – creams, face cleansing gels, etc.

I count them under “consumables” since it takes an infinite amount of time to completely clean the bottles (the alternative is to come to terms with having a new gel, which is a blend of hibiscus and almond) – so I always need new ones. They make a perfect cheap Christmas gift for travelers!

A belt with a hidden pocket

All the places in the world are not equally safe. And travelers love good safety hacks! A hidden pocket in a belt is a great idea, because, honestly – the majority of travel-related crimes are opportunity thefts.

While a bag or a wallet can be easily snatched, pickpocketers won’t go and pull your belt off your pants. 😊

Life Straw or SteriPen

Water is not drinkable everywhere in the world (or sadly, not in many parts of the world). Besides having a reusable water bottle, Life Straw or SteriPen are helpful items for travelers since you can immensely reduce the use of plastic.

Snorkelling equipment

One of the best things in the world is snorkelling in warm tropical waters, observing the colourful underwater life. Oh man, I could stay for hours underwater, every day!

But renting equipment all the time can be costly. Not to mention that you never know, er, in which mouth the snorkel has been before. 😛 So snorkelling equipment can be a great Christmas gift for a traveler.

Dry Bag

Going on a snorkelling trip or just planning to spend a day by the beach and you don’t want to get all your stuff wet and dirty? Well, a dry bag is another useful thing for somebody who spends a lot of their time near water!

(Ummm, we still don’t have this and need it badly – if anyone is wondering what to buy us for Christmas. Just saying.)

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: LIFESAVERS

Before we went on a year-long trip around our Blue Marble I (Sandra) received “A Survival Box” as a farewell gift at my previous job. It contained a bunch of incredibly useful little things that come in handy when traveling. This gift was surely far from expensive but it was extremely thoughtful and it was one of the most beautiful gifts I have ever received!

Inflatable Pillow

We can’t imagine our life without a travel pillow!

Airplanes, buses, trains … as soon as you fall asleep your head falls down with your neck in the most unnatural position possible… within an hour it hurts so much that your day is ruined (especially if you’re just about to be informed that your bus ride will take 12 hours instead of 6).

Inflatable pillows are an extremely useful gift every traveler will be happy about!

Portable Luggage Scale

The carry on luggage limit is 8 kg, and you are standing in line, slightly sweating and thinking whether you should take another hoodie out of your luggage now or wait for the weighing and half ashamed do it at the counter. Again.

The portable luggage scale would save us from those stupidly embarrassing situations when we are trying to put on three extra layers in front of an amused airport employee and annoyed passengers behind us. 😛

Sleep Mask & Earplugs

I can’t stress enough what lifesavers these are!

If I hate anything, I hate strong neon lights on the plane so a sleep mask goes everywhere with me! Get a simple or funkier one.

And sometimes it happens that the kid in the line in front of us decides to whine all 12 hours 😛 (Don’t get mad at me! It’s totally understandable and no judging here, it’s just that… I can’t sleep 😀 ). Having a sleeping mask and a pair of earplugs with you is a total game-changer.

Not to mention they come in handy if you sleep in a party hostel / next to a main street / in the company of a hundred mosquitoes or a-very-engaged-couple. Believe us, in the years of travel, we have seen it all. 😉

Ssshh, do not disturb, I am going on a vacation.

Sarong

Ok, this lifesaver Christmas gift is for women travelers.

It is one of the most multi-functional things that women travelers use! For instance, I take it almost everywhere. It can be used as a scarf on a cold evening, it functions as a long skirt or a cardigan in temples and churches, it can be transformed into a short dress or used as a lining on a sandy beach.

Travel Sewing Kit

Another lifesaver. Now, I never sew. Never, except while traveling. 😀 Not sure why, but somehow it always happens that buttons fall off or a hole appears in an otherwise usable T-shirt. Or underwear, oops.

Headlamp

We’re not going anywhere without these! Either you need it to find something in your luggage and don’t want to wake up everyone around you or you are scanning your surroundings at night to find a perfect place to dig a hole and do your thing (Yes, it has happened. Numerous times. It’s called vanlife.)

Emergency Rain Poncho

An emergency rain poncho takes up almost no space and finds its place in our backpacks even when it’s sunny outside. Because before you know it, it will start pouring heavily and everyone will envy you that ugly plastic thing you’ve just put over yourself.

First aid kit

Travel Medicines

Yes, this sounds weird, we know. But when you go to the pharmacy to fill up your medical travel kit, you don’t get rid of a headache;instead, you get one when you check the bill. 🙂 So don’t rule them out when considering Christmas gifts for travelers, we’ll be happy to get them!

Padlocks

Padlocks are used to either lock your bag or a hostel locker. It’s always good to have a few of them – they can get damaged when luggage is thrown around, the mechanism can get stuck or ‘someone’ forgets the combination and you have to destroy them.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: TRAVEL GADGETS

Universal Adapter

It’s irritating (to put it mildly) coming to a country and realizing you do not have the right kind of adapter for their sockets and then you spend all day finding a suitable store where they sell it. With a universal adapter, this simply cannot happen (well, or it can, if you forget it at home.)

Kindle + Cover

I love reading books. Bookworm is my middle name. And even though I still swear by the “scent of the real book”, Kindle is an essential travel accessory in my backpack.

Its best features? You can read in any position (no hands, I’m telling you!), you can adjust the screen brightness (so no light needed for reading in the dark) and best of all – you can literally take hundreds of books with you. 😀

And if Kindle seems like an expensive gift (because it is!), a Kindle Cover is another great idea. 🙂

External Hard Drive

Once (in a previous century?) we used photo albums and now they have been replaced by external hard drives. Sure, we may put some photos in an album still, but the majority of them are stored in external hard drives.

Travel Case Organizer for Electronics

GoPro & GoPro Accessories

A GoPro camera is also one of those Christmas gifts for travelers that would make them jumpy from happiness. But since you’d need to dig deep into your pocket to buy one, we’d suggest you go for a cheaper option – one of the accessories for it (if a traveler already has a GoPro camera, that is).

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: FOR THOSE RARE TIMES WHEN WE ARE AT HOME

Even when we are at home, our gipsy soul needs some comfort. And that can be easily achieved with travel-inspired home accessories!

A Globe

Back in elementary school, I had a globe light, and in the evening I would dreamily spin it around, wondering what it was like on the other side of the world. Well, now I know, but I still love the globes!

For a more personal touch, you can write a few inspirational travel quotes on it or cover it in nice wishes.

Scratch Off World Map

In our opinion, a number of visited countries is not a measure of how great a traveler you are – after all, somebody who spent months exploring one country may have experienced more than somebody who visited 20 countries for a day or two.

However, scratching that new piece of the map is still a lot of fun and a scratchable world map is an excellent idea for a cheap but thoughtful Christmas gift for a traveler.

Any other travel-inspired “dust collector” or any other kitschy accessory for home

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS: FOR TRAVEL INSPIRATION

What do travelers like besides traveling? Thinking about traveling. Reading about traveling. Watching TV shows about traveling. Got the idea? 🙂

Bucket List Journal

Ah, our bucket list gets longer every day. And while we don’t run out of ideas, it’s always nice to get some new inspiration! This Bucket List Diary for you or for couples will do just that! From ticking off boxes like “paddling in a transparent canoe in Seychelles” to the simple but equally important ones like “visit your family and talk to them about your travels”. These bucket list diaries are one of our favourites Christmas gifts for travelers! 🙂

Instax camera & films

There’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia, huh? 🙂 Capture those unique moments and make a vintage photo album. 🙂 If you know that your traveler already has a camera, they’ll sure be happy to receive new films for it!

Photo Session at a Destination of Choice

Not all travelers enjoy taking photos or perhaps they aren’t super good at it but would like to have beautiful visual memories from a certain destination. Or perhaps… you are planning to propose to your beloved one at a tropical beach? 😉

Sandra

Hi, I'm Sandra from BlueMarble Vagabonds! I've been kind of obsessed with traveling ever since I can remember and love to write, so here I am, combining the two! Besides that, I am also slightly obsessed with unicorns, alpacas and avocados. So my dream pet would probably be an avocado-pooping alpacacorn! But I am pretty happy with my dog too. And my husband is so awesome that he put up with my ridiculousness literally 24/7 on our year-long honeymoon. Gotta love him!

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JUST A LITTLE NOTE

Sandra genuinely apologizes for any grammar mistakes on this website or in our emails. The whole thing has something to do with not being a native speaker and all. Or perhaps with Mercury in retrograde, who knows. Anyhow, she’ll be extremely grateful if you could just , er – turn a blind eye to those tiny errors. 🙏😳